Regular readers of this blog know about our “Taxpayers vs. Bureaucrats” series. Well, now we have the video version.
There are three things in the video that deserve special emphasis. First, bureaucrats are vastly overpaid. The government data cited in the video show that total compensation for the federal civil service is twice as high, on average, as it is for workers in the productive sector of the economy. There are some bureaucrats who deserve above-average pay, such as scientists dealing with nuclear weapons, but it is outrageous that the average drone in the federal bureaucracy is getting twice as much compensation as the taxpayers (serfs) who pay their salaries.
Second, this mini-documentary debunks the silly argument (put forth by government employee unions, of course) that bureaucrats are underpaid compared to the private sector. The Department of Labor has data looking at voluntary departure rates by profession. If government workers were being underpaid, you would expect them to be more likely to leave their jobs in order to take new positions in the (supposedly higher paid) private sector. Instead, the video reveals that people in the private sector are six times more likely to switch jobs than federal bureaucrats.
Third, the video concludes with the essential point that most federal bureaucrats should be paid nothing because they work for departments and agencies that should not exist.
“… but it is outrageous that the average drone in the federal bureaucracy …”
Ha ha. I love it.
[...] workforce has expanded since the downturn began. And since compensation for federal bureaucrats is twice the average for other workers, it certainly seems like Obama is playing a perverse game of class warfare – particularly [...]
[...] workforce has expanded since the downturn began. And since compensation for federal bureaucrats is twice the average for other workers, it certainly seems like Obama is playing a perverse game of class warfare – particularly since [...]
[...] workers who get in trouble with the IRS. Compensation packages for federal bureaucrats are twice as lucrative as those for workers in the productive sector of the economy and their pensions are similarly extravagant. Yet they often can’t be bothered to fully pay [...]
[...] workers who get in trouble with the IRS. Compensation packages for federal bureaucrats are twice as lucrative as those for workers in the productive sector of the economy and their pensions are similarly extravagant. Yet they often can’t be bothered to fully pay their [...]
[...] what signs they’ll carry? Perhaps “Lazy People Have Rights!”? Or how about, “We Deserve Twice the Income of People Who Actually Produce”? I wouldn’t be surprised, however, if this event fizzles out because the bureaucrats are all [...]
[...] January 2, 2011 by Dan Mitchell This blog repeatedly has chronicled the huge discrepancy between the gold-plated compensation for government employees and the meager salaries and benefits of people in the productive sector of the economy, including a video conclusively demonstrating that bureaucrats are overpaid. [...]
Absolutely S*U*P*E*R*B video! Among the best that I have ever seen.
In the USA, with your superior political system where the people can actually somehow limit the power of the political class, you get such luxury salaries and benefits for bureaucrats.
Imagine how much worse are things here in Latin America, where the power of the people to limit the insatiable lust for money, power and control of the political class is much weaker.
[...] January 2, 2011 by Dan Mitchell This blog repeatedly has chronicled the huge discrepancy between the gold-plated compensation for government employees and the meager salaries and benefits of people in the productive sector of the economy, including a video conclusively demonstrating that bureaucrats are overpaid. [...]
[...] interesting, the report notes that reducing social welfare spending and reducing the burden of the bureaucracy are the two most effective ways of lowering red ink. The estimation results indicate that [...]
[...] interesting, the report notes that reducing social welfare spending and reducing the burden of the bureaucracy are the two most effective ways of lowering red ink. The estimation results indicate that [...]
[...] interesting, the report notes that reducing social welfare spending and reducing the burden of the bureaucracy are the two most effective ways of lowering red ink. The estimation results indicate that [...]
[...] interesting, the report notes that reducing social welfare spending and reducing the burden of the bureaucracy are the two most effective ways of lowering red ink. The estimation results indicate that [...]
[...] interesting, the report notes that reducing social welfare spending and reducing the burden of the bureaucracy are the two most effective ways of lowering red ink: The estimation results indicate that [...]
[...] data on total compensation clearly show a big advantage for state and local bureaucrats, largely because of lavish benefits (which is the problem that Governor Walker in Wisconsin is [...]
[...] data on total compensation clearly show a big advantage for state and local bureaucrats, largely because of lavish benefits (which is the problem that Governor Walker in Wisconsin is [...]
[...] data on total compensation clearly show a big advantage for state and local bureaucrats, largely because of lavish benefits (which is the problem that Governor Walker in Wisconsin is [...]
[...] data on total compensation clearly show a big advantage for state and local bureaucrats, largely because of lavish benefits (which is the problem that Governor Walker in Wisconsin is [...]
Government employment is welfare with the requirement to occasionally showup.
I interfaced with government employees for over 40 years which qualifies me to comment. Almost all of them are totally incompetent and unnecessary.
[...] the discussion is too narrow for two reasons (though both reasons are connected to the fact that government workers are overpaid relatively to people in the productive sector of the [...]
[...] difference between a real job and working for the government? I used the think the answer was that bureaucrats are overpaid, usually for being in positions that shouldn’t even [...]
[...] data on total compensation clearly show a big advantage for state and local bureaucrats, largely because of lavish benefits (which is the problem that Governor Walker in Wisconsin is [...]
[...] The biggest beneficiaries of the current system are the army of bureaucrats that receive very comfortable salaries administering various [...]
[...] done a video on excessive compensation for bureaucrats and I’ve written many times about wasteful spending, but here’s a cartoon that manages [...]
[...] done a video on excessive compensation for bureaucrats and I’ve written many times about wasteful spending, but here’s a cartoon that manages to [...]
[...] the way, here’s the…ahem…best video I’ve ever seen on the topic of costly and excessive [...]
Most arguments using ‘big picture’ thinking sound good, but big picture ideals don’t produce change. Change happens in the details of carrying out the big picture.
So, how do you minimize the too big government? Fire the workers? Eliminate regulations? We’ve already seen what a company will do without government oversight. Sweat shops, child labor, unsafe working conditions, and harrassment by supervisors. Oversight and regulation is needed, and it can’t be just internal “we’ll police ourselves.”
So, lets take a specific case, and see how it compares to this video. Take me, since that is something I know about. I work for the government. Got my automatic pay increases the first 3 years on the job, then have hardly seen one since, and its been 8 years! And being a government employee, President Obama has FROZEN my pay for a minimum of 2 years. Two years of inflation, with no cost of living increases or anything. And a hiring freeze. So no chance to move into a better paying position. And with budget cuts, ALL of the department manager positions have been eliminated. Not furlough, not drawn dawn, but eliminated. Axed. Ceases to exist. So no transfer or promotion opportunities there anymore. And that displaced already hired workers, and now I have to compete with them for any position I might find. — little to no room for advancement.
Now, my current job is to be a prison guard. I got two weeks of training, and then NONE after that. None. Been in for over a decade, and I don’t get training even though our programs have every employee fill out training requests every year. I guess no funds for the guys on the bottem of the totem pole.
In MY job, I “work” with about 500 convicted criminals BY MYSELF. Sometimes in a single story building, sometimes in a three story building. But always by myself. No partner. No other staff in the building. Oh, and no personal protection equipment either. In the Federal system, we don’t get whistles, or “night sticks”, or mace, or any of that stuff. And we are not allowed to bring in our own! So, I work in a building fill of grown men that not only are capable of breaking the law, but are willing to do so. Work alone. Without protection. And its done anywhere between $14 – $25 an hour, depending on how long you’ve been in. $53,000 a year is the base pay. And he have to work nights and weekends and holidays. And sometimes we are forced to work a double shift, without notice, and we can’t refuse it. Ya, they will pay us overtime- it’s the law. Everyone gets paid a minimum (for us that means the maximum) of 1.5 times the normal hourly rate unless we agree to work for “comp” time (if we can get it). But, you can get worked 16 hours straight without any overtime pay if it crosses over midnight Sunday. Its called “a free double”.
OK, there you go. The facts of one government employee. I work full time, and if I work for 25 years straight without changing agencies, I can collect when I retire. Otherwise I wont see a penny until after I turn 55.5 years old. And if I work 30 years, I can retire at half my normal wages. That will mean I’ll collect about $2,500 a month for retirement. In California my mortgage is $1,450 a month for a 4 bedroom house. Add $220 a month for utilities (Heat and water, not including phone or TV) and that leaves $830 a month for food, transportation, phone, etc.
Don’t get me wrong, I believe our government has gotten to become too big. Really, how many people does it take? The point I wanted to make is when talking big picture, it can cause a distortion of what it means to be a civil service worker.
I think there should be a whole lot more transperancy in government. And I wish I knew what positions where paid what. I guessing its the upper management positions that are taking the 6 digit saleries. And I personally don’t understand why anyone in a gov positoin should be getting paid that much.
Damn, I work shoulder to should with criminals and I make about $50,000
[...] This is an excellent idea since domestic programs are overwhelmingly to blame for America’s fiscal problems, and those programs employ hundreds of thousands of unnecessary and over-compensated bureaucrats. [...]
[...] fact that 11 government agencies responded. If that doesn’t tell you right away that we have too many government bureaucracies and too many bureaucrats with nothing to do, then you must be in a [...]
[...] data on total compensation clearly show a big advantage for state and local bureaucrats, largely because of lavish benefits (which is the problem that Governor Walker in Wisconsin is [...]
[...] more information about the overcompensation of bureaucrats, this video is loaded with [...]
[...] more information about the overcompensation of bureaucrats, this video is loaded with [...]
[...] more information about the overcompensation of bureaucrats, this video is loaded with [...]
[...] more information about the overcompensation of bureaucrats, this video is loaded with [...]
[...] shot, regarding the Conan joke about happy government workers. Of course they’re happy, since their compensation is twice as high as people in the productive sector of the economy. Rate this: Share [...]
[...] meanwhile, get screwed. This video explains why this is a problem at all levels of [...]
[...] and agencies that are filled with non-essential bureaucrats. And don’t forget that these bureaucrats are overpaid, getting, on average, twice the compensation of workers in the productive sector of the [...]
[...] departments, and agencies that are filled with non-essential bureaucrats. And don’t forget that these bureaucrats are overpaid, getting, on average, twice the compensation of workers in the productive sector of the [...]
[...] departments, and agencies that are filled with non-essential bureaucrats. And don’t forget that these bureaucrats are overpaid, getting, on average, twice the compensation of workers in the productive sector of the [...]
[...] Government bureaucrats are significantly overpaid compared to folks in the productive sector of the economy. [...]
[...] I’ve written repeatedly about excessive compensation for government employees, these results are encouraging. Perhaps the gravy train has finally been [...]
[...] thought this cartoon about overpaid bureaucrats in Wisconsin was amusing, but this Hitler parody about the recall result is an instant [...]
[...] thought this cartoon about overpaid bureaucrats in Wisconsin was amusing, but this Hitler parody about the recall result is an instant [...]
[...] if you enjoy humor about overpaid government employees, regardless of where they’re located, here’s a great top-10 list from Letterman and [...]
[...] a lot of money in Washington because federal bureaucrats are wildly overpaid, as I document in this video, and also because there is a huge shadow workforce of contractors, consultants, and lobbyists who [...]
[...] explained in this video, the main problem with state and local governments such as California and Stockton is that there [...]
[...] America’s dismal future if Obamacare is allowed to take root or whether this is a post about bureaucrats ripping off [...]
[...] initial instinct is that we should fire the over-paid bureaucrats who generate this kind of nonsense. I admit that such as step might only address the symptom of a [...]
[...] I’ve switched my home state of Virginia to the GOP column. Northern Virginia is filled with government bureaucrats and corrupt lobbyists, both pro-Obama groups, but I now think they’ll be out-voted by what my [...]
[...] initial instinct is that we should fire the over-paid bureaucrats who generate this kind of nonsense. I admit that such as step might only address the symptom of a [...]
[...] there be more government workers? Anyone who has seen this video knows my answer to that [...]
[...] In other words, the economic problem is that there has been too much spending, and the political problem is that politicians have been trying to buy votes by padding government payrolls (a problem that also exists in America). [...]
[...] In other words, the economic problem is that there has been too much spending, and the political problem is that politicians have been trying to buy votes by padding government payrolls (a problem that also exists in America). [...]
[...] there be more government workers? Anyone who has seen this video knows my answer to that [...]
[...] And to show that this story is just the tip of the iceberg, let’s recycle my video about overpaid government bureaucrats. [...]
[...] P.P.S. While I utterly despise bureaucrats who engage in thuggish behavior, I’m not a big fan of bureaucrats in general. [...]
[...] Which is why this cartoon is the best summary of “negotiations” between politicians and union bosses, and this video is damning proof that bureaucrats are wildly over-compensated. [...]
[...] and don’t receive programmatic benefits, yet are part of the proverbial moocher class. Many government bureaucrats obviously would be on that list, as would some union members, trial lawyers, [...]
[...] this is the part of the report that is most admirable. It calls for a three-year freeze on excessive compensation and urges reductions in bureaucratic bloat – albeit only through [...]
[...] the big numbers, in terms of the burden on taxpayers, come from the giant army of overcompensated federal bureaucrats. And you need to consider the mass of lobbyists and consultants that also are part of the corrupt [...]
[...] But when I read today that federal bureaucrats are supposedly underpaid, notwithstanding all the evidence to the contrary, I thought somebody had sent me an article from the [...]
[...] employees are less than 1/3 as likely to quit their jobs as private sector employees, and (in a previous article) that the average Civil Service employee now makes more than twice as much as the average [...]
[...] tax and don’t receive programmatic benefits, yet are part of the proverbial moocher class. Many government bureaucrats obviously would be on that list, as would some union members, trial lawyers, [...]
[...] These initiatives are related to fiscal policy, but they belong in a special category since they deal with the necessity of curtailing bloated and over-compensated government bureaucracies. [...]
[...] These initiatives are related to fiscal policy, but they belong in a special category since they deal with the necessity of curtailing bloated and over-compensated government bureaucracies. [...]
[...] Yes, I realize that the politicians and interest groups structured the measure so that the majority of voters would be unaffected. It was basically a class-warfare proposal, with a small fraction of the population being targeted to generate (at least in theory) a bunch of revenue that could be used to maintain a bloated and over-compensated state bureaucracy. [...]
[...] Over the years, I’ve shared some outrageous examples of overpaid bureaucrats. [...]
[...] Over the years, I’ve shared some outrageous examples of overpaid bureaucrats. [...]
[...] Over the years, I’ve shared some outrageous examples of overpaid bureaucrats. [...]
[...] Over the years, I’ve shared some outrageous examples of overpaid bureaucrats. [...]
[...] Over the years, I’ve shared some outrageous examples of overpaid bureaucrats. [...]
[...] I’m definitely opposed to the excessive pay and benefits that politicians grant to bureaucrats in exchange for votes and money from government employee unions (as cleverly depicted in this great [...]
[...] Over the years, I’ve shared some outrageous examples of overpaid bureaucrats. [...]
[...] Let’s wrap this up. A few years ago, I issued this video about overpaid bureaucrats. [...]
[...] Let’s wrap this up. A few years ago, I issued this video about overpaid bureaucrats. [...]
[...] Maybe I’m missing something, but the only good policy that’s even worth mentioning was the decision in Wisconsin to rein in the special privileges and excessive compensation for government workers. [...]
[...] Maybe I’m missing something, but the only good policy that’s even worth mentioning was the decision in Wisconsin to rein in the special privileges and excessive compensation for government workers. [...]
[...] there be more government workers? Anyone who has seen this video knows my answer to that [...]
[...] Maybe I’m missing something, but the only good policy that’s even worth mentioning was the decision in Wisconsin to rein in the special privileges and excessive compensation for government workers. [...]
[...] But a key challenge for all governments is controlling the size and cost of bureaucracies. [...]
[...] Heck, I even made HUD the background image for my video on the bloated and overpaid bureaucracy in Washington. [...]
[...] giving me ridiculous traffic tickets), that doesn’t mean we should have too many of them or pay them too much (though, to be fair, they’re presumably not paid as much as cops in [...]
[...] most bureaucrats, I suspect the pinheads at the Indiana Department of Natural Resources are overpaid. So losing [...]
[...] All that being said, I’m not a fan of the TCI government. Just like happened in the Cayman Islands (discussed in detail here), the government of the Turks and Caicos Islands spent too much money and put too many people on the payroll and paid them above-market wages (gee, sound familiar?). [...]
[...] Over the years, I’ve shared some outrageous examples of overpaid bureaucrats. [...]
[...] Yes, I realize that the politicians and interest groups structured the measure so that the majority of voters would be unaffected. It was basically a class-warfare proposal, with a small fraction of the population being targeted to generate (at least in theory) a bunch of revenue that could be used to maintain a bloated and over-compensated state bureaucracy. [...]
[...] can add another story to the list. A local TV station in Washington, DC (with a viewing audience of countless overpaid bureaucrats) had the courage to run a story debunking sequester [...]
[...] there’s another cad at the Cato Institute who actually had the nerve to narrate this video, which unfairly uses facts and data to show that the federal workforce is [...]
[...] point out that we shouldn’t worry about government employees getting a slight haircut since federal bureaucrats are overcompensated. Moreover, I warn that some agencies may deliberately try to inconvenience people in an attempt to [...]
[...] Public finance experts are quite familiar with the budgetary shenanigans of cossetted government bureaucracies. [...]
[...] Public finance experts are quite familiar with the budgetary shenanigans of cossetted government bureaucracies. [...]
Mitchell’s ad nauseum hacks (90+ pingbacks???) on overpaid federal bureaucrats represent a disappointingly sophomoric analysis for more than just his favored nuclear weapon scientists.
National Park Service groundskeepers might make twice as much as their illegal Mexican immigrant lawn maintenance worker counterparts based out of an uninsured pickup truck, but the oranges-to-oranges comparison with the private sector stalls somewhere around there.
Printing press operators at the US Treasury probably DO make more than their counterparts at Kinko’s Copy Centers…and rightly so, I’d think. Making currency requires a bit more skill than pressing a PRINT button, and that knowledge, skills and abilities is worth commensurately more.
Or how about those lazy, overpaid federal food inspectors? If there were any true private sector counterparts for comparison (and I’m pretty sure there’s not), why is it that the feds regularly intercept violative food that slips past the private sector? Could it be that the feds are…I dunno…better, more dedicated or whatever at actually finding violative food? Isn’t that worth more?
And since we’re on food, what about the “mere” toxicologists who determine acceptably safe levels of contaminants in our food supply? They spend at least as much time and effort getting adequately educated as nuclear weapon scientists, I’d imagine, and you’re much more likely to cause harm to a large number of people with a barely visible dusting of pesticide powder on a containload of apples than with a WMD. So what’s with Mitchell’s arbitrary approval of high pay for federal nuke scientists but not for the brainiac guys and gals who help keep our food supply the safest in the world?
Could the private/fed pay differential have anything to do with the high education requirements needed to even enter the federal service for many positions? If a private sector position can be had with a Bachelor of Arts degree, is it really that unreasonable to offer a higher salary to a federal worker in a comparable position who had to get a Master of Science degree to even be considered for the part?
Mitchell’s argument is on much more solid ground when he focuses on federal bureaucrats who work in programs that should never have existed in the first place. The class warfare strategy of hacking on federal workers (except for nuclear weapon scientists and “Beltway Bandit” contractors, of course) reflects a disappointing lack of serious thought. It sure appeals to the mob though, especially when the economy is in the tank.
[...] my video on overpaid bureaucrats pale in [...]
[...] No wonder I picked the Department of Housing and Urban Development for the background for my video on bloated and wasteful bureaucracy. [...]
[...] No wonder I picked the Department of Housing and Urban Development for the background for my video on bloated and wasteful bureaucracy. [...]
[...] perverse form of redistribution. All that money going to Washington helps subsidize a network of overpaid bureaucrats, fat-cat lobbyists, corrupt politicians, and well-heeled interest [...]
[...] perverse form of redistribution. All that money going to Washington helps subsidize a network of overpaid bureaucrats, fat-cat lobbyists, corrupt politicians, and well-heeled interest [...]
[...] even narrated a video on the topic of excessive pay and benefits for [...]
[...] even narrated a video on the topic of excessive pay and benefits for [...]
[...] They took money from taxpayers as part of their excessive compensation packages. [...]
[...] They took money from taxpayers as part of their excessive compensation packages. [...]
[...] we have to reform entitlements and also trim back the excessive compensation for the bureaucracy. This video [...]
[…] tax and don’t receive programmatic benefits, yet are part of the proverbial moocher class. Many government bureaucrats obviously would be on that list, as would some union members, trial lawyers, […]
[…] this is the part of the report that is most admirable. It calls for a three-year freeze on excessive compensation and urges reductions in bureaucratic bloat – albeit only through […]
[…] He’s been a bureaucrat for about a decade, which almost surely means he’s over-paid and under-worked. […]
[…] shape so the moral of the story is that we need to save the United States from the brainless (and overpaid) bureaucrats who are trying to ruin our […]
[…] don’t forget that there are millions of other bureaucrats still on the payroll, earning more than us while working less than […]
[…] we thought it was bad that federal bureaucrats in the United States got twice as much compensation as people in the economy’s productive […]
[…] I’ve also complained (to the point of being a nuisance!) that there are too many government bureaucrats and they cost too much. […]
[…] I’ve also complained (to the point of being a nuisance!) that there are too many government bureaucrats and they cost too much. […]
[…] I’ve also complained (to the point of being a nuisance!) that there are too many government bureaucrats and they cost too much. […]
[…] answer is simple. Even though you and your pals already are paid more than the peasants in the private sector, give yourself and your cronies giant […]